SilverBullet vs SiYuan
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
SiYuan
Privacy-first personal knowledge management system
| Feature | SilverBullet | SiYuan |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 100 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,142 | ★ 46,488 |
| First released | 2022 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Notion, Obsidian | Notion, Evernote |
What are SilverBullet and SiYuan?
SilverBullet
SilverBullet is an extensible, Markdown-based note-taking web app that you can run on your own server and access from any browser. It targets users who want a programmable personal knowledge tool. It is deployed via Docker or Deno.
- Markdown-based with live queries
- Extensible via Space Script
- Works offline as a PWA
- Plain file storage
SiYuan
SiYuan is an open-source, privacy-first personal knowledge management system that supports block-level references and bidirectional links. It can run locally or be self-hosted for access across devices.
- Block-level referencing
- Bidirectional links
- Self-hosted or local mode
- End-to-end encrypted sync
SilverBullet vs SiYuan: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for SilverBullet versus AGPL-3.0 for SiYuan. SilverBullet is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for SiYuan. SiYuan is the more established project (first released 2020), while SilverBullet arrived in 2022. SiYuan has the considerably larger community, at 46,488 GitHub stars versus 6,142.
Why pick each one
Choose SilverBullet if…
- Highly hackable
- Lightweight
- Files stay portable
Watch out for
- Niche and DIY-oriented
- Smaller community
Choose SiYuan if…
- Powerful block-based model
- Works offline and self-hosted
Watch out for
- Documentation strongest in Chinese
- Some advanced features are paid
Frequently asked questions
Is SilverBullet or SiYuan better?
Neither is universally better. SiYuan has the larger community, while SilverBullet is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are SilverBullet and SiYuan free and open-source?
Yes. SilverBullet is licensed under MIT and SiYuan under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run SilverBullet and SiYuan with Docker?
SilverBullet: yes. SiYuan: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, SilverBullet or SiYuan?
SilverBullet has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for SiYuan. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.